The American Psychological Association describes postpartum depression (PPD) as a “serious mood disorder” that “can make it hard for you to get through the day, and it can affect your ability to take care of your baby, or yourself.” They also note that PPD can happen to any women, regardless of how easy their pregnancy was, their age, their ethnicity, or their income. The symptoms and severity of PPD can vary from woman to woman, so we asked some brave moms to share their stories of what PPD really feels like. Read on for their raw and honest accounts — and please contact your doctor if you think you might be suffering from PPD. If you or someone you know has expressed suicidal thoughts, please let them know they are not alone. Text START to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit the Suicide Prevention Resource Center at www.sprc.org. “The final straw was when I had a panic attack when my husband and I were on a short road trip. It was a two-hour drive and I couldn’t stop freaking out about the other cars being too close to us. I was yelling at my husband for tailgating and for being reckless, which he wasn’t. He made me go to the doctor the next day. I got put on a low dose of an antianxiety med and it helped a lot.” — R.E. More from CafeMom: 5 Warning Signs You Could Have Postpartum Depression “I remain convinced that my baby’s traumatic birth was a huge trigger of a lot of stuff for both of us. Then he was fussy/clingy, which was stressful for me, but also it just took a long time for me to get over him being in mortal peril at birth and being taken away from me right when he was born.” — M.R. “What was weird for me is that I started to notice that my blah feelings seemed to spike when I nursed the baby. I mentioned that to my doctor when she asked how feeding was going and that prompted the conversation that helped me figure out that I was suffering from PPD. I’m really glad she brought it up because once I started dealing with the PPD, the experience of being a mom totally changed.” — Anonymous “When I read the third book, I read the part about the dementors, who are these ghosts that suck the hope and joy out of people, and I felt such recognition. Like I had been attacked by a dementor. Like I was never going to feel happy again. I talked about it on a Harry Potter fan site and a bunch of women reached out and said ‘Um, yeah, you have postpartum depression’ and they were right. “Thankfully my doctor took me seriously and we made a plan to deal with it (meds!). I still like Harry Potter, but I love my regular life more now.” — E.B. More from CafeMom: Postpartum Depression Myths Debunked “But I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t feel — anything, really. And that made me feel SO GUILTY. There was no reason to be sad. No reason not to be happy. And I just couldn’t shake it. A few weeks of this and I finally broke down and told my wife that I was broken. She helped me see that it was probably PPD.” — K.N.
title: “Moms Reveal What Postpartum Depression Really Feels Like” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-08” author: “Fred Mahaffey”
The American Psychological Association describes postpartum depression (PPD) as a “serious mood disorder” that “can make it hard for you to get through the day, and it can affect your ability to take care of your baby, or yourself.” They also note that PPD can happen to any women, regardless of how easy their pregnancy was, their age, their ethnicity, or their income. The symptoms and severity of PPD can vary from woman to woman, so we asked some brave moms to share their stories of what PPD really feels like. Read on for their raw and honest accounts — and please contact your doctor if you think you might be suffering from PPD. If you or someone you know has expressed suicidal thoughts, please let them know they are not alone. Text START to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit the Suicide Prevention Resource Center at www.sprc.org. “The final straw was when I had a panic attack when my husband and I were on a short road trip. It was a two-hour drive and I couldn’t stop freaking out about the other cars being too close to us. I was yelling at my husband for tailgating and for being reckless, which he wasn’t. He made me go to the doctor the next day. I got put on a low dose of an antianxiety med and it helped a lot.” — R.E. More from CafeMom: 5 Warning Signs You Could Have Postpartum Depression “I remain convinced that my baby’s traumatic birth was a huge trigger of a lot of stuff for both of us. Then he was fussy/clingy, which was stressful for me, but also it just took a long time for me to get over him being in mortal peril at birth and being taken away from me right when he was born.” — M.R. “What was weird for me is that I started to notice that my blah feelings seemed to spike when I nursed the baby. I mentioned that to my doctor when she asked how feeding was going and that prompted the conversation that helped me figure out that I was suffering from PPD. I’m really glad she brought it up because once I started dealing with the PPD, the experience of being a mom totally changed.” — Anonymous “When I read the third book, I read the part about the dementors, who are these ghosts that suck the hope and joy out of people, and I felt such recognition. Like I had been attacked by a dementor. Like I was never going to feel happy again. I talked about it on a Harry Potter fan site and a bunch of women reached out and said ‘Um, yeah, you have postpartum depression’ and they were right. “Thankfully my doctor took me seriously and we made a plan to deal with it (meds!). I still like Harry Potter, but I love my regular life more now.” — E.B. More from CafeMom: Postpartum Depression Myths Debunked “But I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t feel — anything, really. And that made me feel SO GUILTY. There was no reason to be sad. No reason not to be happy. And I just couldn’t shake it. A few weeks of this and I finally broke down and told my wife that I was broken. She helped me see that it was probably PPD.” — K.N.
title: “Moms Reveal What Postpartum Depression Really Feels Like” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-16” author: “Penny Twigg”
The American Psychological Association describes postpartum depression (PPD) as a “serious mood disorder” that “can make it hard for you to get through the day, and it can affect your ability to take care of your baby, or yourself.” They also note that PPD can happen to any women, regardless of how easy their pregnancy was, their age, their ethnicity, or their income. The symptoms and severity of PPD can vary from woman to woman, so we asked some brave moms to share their stories of what PPD really feels like. Read on for their raw and honest accounts — and please contact your doctor if you think you might be suffering from PPD. If you or someone you know has expressed suicidal thoughts, please let them know they are not alone. Text START to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit the Suicide Prevention Resource Center at www.sprc.org. “The final straw was when I had a panic attack when my husband and I were on a short road trip. It was a two-hour drive and I couldn’t stop freaking out about the other cars being too close to us. I was yelling at my husband for tailgating and for being reckless, which he wasn’t. He made me go to the doctor the next day. I got put on a low dose of an antianxiety med and it helped a lot.” — R.E. More from CafeMom: 5 Warning Signs You Could Have Postpartum Depression “I remain convinced that my baby’s traumatic birth was a huge trigger of a lot of stuff for both of us. Then he was fussy/clingy, which was stressful for me, but also it just took a long time for me to get over him being in mortal peril at birth and being taken away from me right when he was born.” — M.R. “What was weird for me is that I started to notice that my blah feelings seemed to spike when I nursed the baby. I mentioned that to my doctor when she asked how feeding was going and that prompted the conversation that helped me figure out that I was suffering from PPD. I’m really glad she brought it up because once I started dealing with the PPD, the experience of being a mom totally changed.” — Anonymous “When I read the third book, I read the part about the dementors, who are these ghosts that suck the hope and joy out of people, and I felt such recognition. Like I had been attacked by a dementor. Like I was never going to feel happy again. I talked about it on a Harry Potter fan site and a bunch of women reached out and said ‘Um, yeah, you have postpartum depression’ and they were right. “Thankfully my doctor took me seriously and we made a plan to deal with it (meds!). I still like Harry Potter, but I love my regular life more now.” — E.B. More from CafeMom: Postpartum Depression Myths Debunked “But I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t feel — anything, really. And that made me feel SO GUILTY. There was no reason to be sad. No reason not to be happy. And I just couldn’t shake it. A few weeks of this and I finally broke down and told my wife that I was broken. She helped me see that it was probably PPD.” — K.N.
